Private sector in North calls for resumption of Test & Go entry pathway for tourists

[snoop1130]

 

BANGKOK (NNT) - Businesses in the Northern Region are calling on the government to resume the Test & Go entry scheme for international visitors to provide tourism and hospitality businesses in the North with much-needed revenue before the current high season ends.

 

Mr. Sanan Angubolkul, Thai Chamber of Commerce chairman and chairman of the Board of Trade of Thailand, held a meeting with Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Yuthasak Supasorn, Chiang Mai Governor Prachon Pratsakul, and representatives from tourism associations and businesses in the Northern Region to discuss the revival of the tourism scene. Most participants at the meeting proposed a resumption of the Test & Go entry scheme for international tourists, reasoning that the COVID-19 situation at present is not as severe as during last year’s major wave. They said the Test & Go scheme could be adjusted to better suit present circumstances and this should be quickly implemented while the high season in the North lasts. Those at the meeting said an influx of tourists would raise money circulation in the local economy and enable jobs to be retained, adding that 5-6 million tourists could be had in 2022 if Test & Go is re-implemented.

 

The meeting also discussed the monitoring of foreign business activities in the North, where illicit travel businesses and guides operate. Tourism platforms that did not pay taxes appropriately were also discussed.

 

Thai Chamber of Commerce representatives said importance needs to be given to all dimensions of economic revival although each sector has not been affected equally, noting that the tourism sector has been generating 15-20% of the country’s GDP before the pandemic.

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2022-01-20

 

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[orchis]

someone tell them testngo will be reinstated feb 1 ????

[connda]

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

Businesses in the Northern Region are calling on the government to resume the Test & Go entry scheme for international visitors to provide tourism and hospitality businesses in the North with much-needed revenue before the current high season ends.

Sorry - a day late and a few hundred billion THB short.  In another couple of weeks High Season will be replaced with Burn Season and N95 masks will be replacing the rather useless cloth contraptions that don't filter out PM2.5 or things like viruses which are significantly smaller.  Really - who wants to Come To The North to see the mountains burn?  Well - if you can see them at all. 

Edited January 20, 2022 by connda

[connda]

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

The meeting also discussed the monitoring of foreign business activities in the North, where illicit travel businesses and guides operate. Tourism platforms that did not pay taxes appropriately were also discussed.

Amazing Thailand - The government destroyed the tourism industry, but they worry about "illicit travel businesses and guides"  <slide whistle/cymbal crash>  Maybe decoded that actually means - 'we need to make sure only connected businesses get the limited revenue generated by a handful of tourists who didn't get the memo that Thailand is essentially closed.
I hope nobody planned to getting a beer at a pub or anything illegal like that!  Heavens "No!"